cucumbers growing in yellow?

[rosiegirl]

my cucumbers had seemingly been doing really well, but i just checked on them and something is definitely wrong.

some of the cucumbers are coming in green, but some are definitely coming in yelllow. what's going on?! not enough sun to bottom leaves? disease issue? bugs? nutrient deficiency?

the cucumbers are in a raised bed with tomatoes and summer squash. the weather here has been great...sunny, warm/hot, watered well.

here is one of the cucumbers:



here are the leaves at the bottom of the cucumber plant (you can also see that some of the cucumbers are coming in green):



and here are a couple more sad-looking cucumbers.




any thoughts? my children are very cranky at the thought of no cucumbers!

[Binkalette]

A few of mine are like that too, but it is also my first year growing cukes. In previous years though I have grown pumpkins and squash, and sometimes when they start coming in real pale, it means that the blossom was not pollinated and so the plant is aborting the fruit. I have no idea if that's what it means for your (and my) cukes, but that's what i've been assuming it means for mine.. waiting to see I guess.

[garden5]

Could it be a nitrogen deficiency? Have you checked your ph? If your ph is off, it can make things difficult for your plant to up-take nutrients.

How do the yellow cucumbers feel: are they soft and rotten-feeling or firm?

It could be a pollination issue, but I can't find anything with a quick Google search that says cuckes do that.

[rosiegirl]

they don't feel soft at all. they feel like tiny cucumbers, but yellow and definitely not growing.

can't figure it out. the pH is great in the garden and the soil is really good. can try fertilizing and see what happens?

[applestar]

I tend to think they're not being pollinated too. Do you see pollinators in your garden? Have you observed them visiting your cukes? You might just assume so and try hand pollinating with a small soft watercolor brush (or make up brush). Touch the tip to inside of a male flower, then to the female flower. Do this after the dew has dried in the morning.

I found a couple of unpollinated yellow squash this morning. Their flower ends were firmly pressed into the mulch No wonder the bees couldn't get in.

[rosiegirl]

there are definitely bees around! and i do have some green cucumbers. will go take a look tomorrow and see if i can figure out male and female flowers!

[garden5]

Identifying the flowers is easy. All you have to do is look behind the flowers: if there is a small cucumber, it's a female, if not, it's a male. Good luck with the pollinating.